It is known in the automotive industry to locate a module inside the vehicle door. This module supports the window and the window regulator and is mounted into the vehicle door.
A door configuration is known which consists of a shell extending at its upper part into a frame receiving the window. The term "window" as used herein also means the glass pane. The outer sheetmetal of the shell forms the external door panel. This external panel is rigidly joined to an inner panel comprising two apertures separated by a door brace. The brace of the inner panel is concave toward the door shell inside in order to match the shape of the protruding module.
The patent application WO 94 03341 filed by applicant describes a molded plastic module housed in such a door configuration. This module comprises a rail on which a window-regulator slider moves vertically, and further a window guide for a side edge of the window. The rail and the guide also are made of plastic and are rigidly joined to the body of the module. The slider is driven into translation along the rail by a cable actuated by a motor housed in the body of the module. The module is inserted by its upper part into the vehicle door, with the rail facing toward the vehicle outside. The upper ends of the rail and of the guide are inserted upward into seats between the inner and outer panels of the door shell. Thereafter the lower part of a cassette is pivoted toward the door inside in order that the lower ends of the rail and of the guide in turn shall enter the inside of the module. Next the window is inserted into the guide and affixed to the slider. Lastly the module is affixed to the inner door sheetmetal at affixation points near the ends absorbing the main forces. The protruding part of the module located on the side bearing the window is housed in the space cleared on account of the concavity of the brace.
Increasingly vehicle design requires larger window surfaces. The higher the window, the longer must be the rail and the module guide: the rail of the window module must thereby be extended downward to allow the window to be lowered as much as possible between the two door panels. If the rail is inadequately extended, the window will not fully descend into the lower door portion. Hence it will be impossible to fully open the door frame.
However, if the rail length were overextended, the module no longer can be installed into the door shell fitted with a brace. The upper ends of the rail and the guide may be inserted upward into the seats between the inner and outer panels of the door shell. However, by pivoting the base of the module, the lower ends of the rail and the guide will hit the lower edge of the apertures of the inner panel of the shell. As a result, the lower rail end cannot be inserted into the shell seats provided for this purpose. The maximum rail length allowing mounting the module in the shell precludes descending as far as the lower shell limit. A distance of about 30 mm remains underneath the mounted module that is unavailable to further lower the window. The door structure cannot be modified, and a design to fit the module with telescoping rails would render the window regulator more complex.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,259 describes a door design and a window regulator integrated into this door structure. The window regulator module is integrated into a truss in the shape of the door contour from the lower edge to the upper frame. This module comprises two metal rails parallel to the side edges of the door on which slide window supports on skids or sliders. The truss includes the window regulator and is sandwiched between an outer and an inner panel.
In this door design, the window can be lowered as far as the lower door end. However such a design is inappropriate to a molded plastic module because it would degrade the mechanical strength of the inner body of the door. Also, such a window regulator modifies and complicates the door structure, entailing a large number of parts and complex assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,403 describes a molded plastic module comprising vertical guides associated to the side edges of a window. The module also comprises two metal arms which are mounted to subtend together an X shape and pivot one on the other. Each of the lower ends of the two arms comprises a roller sliding in a horizontal rail riveted into the window near its lower edge. One arm, namely the support arm, is driven in rotation about its upper end which is affixed to the module. The upper end of the other arm, namely the regulating arm, comprises a skid or slider sliding in a slot of the module body. Depending on the direction of rotation of the support arm, the lower ends of the two metal arms sliding in the rail will drive this rail and hence the window upward or downward.
However this kind of module must be mounted into a modified door structure lacking a central brace: the two metal arms cannot be inserted into the shell or only by means of complex assembly. Furthermore, the module configuration per se requires a large number of parts and cannot be molded integrally.